Marketing Your Sunday School Class

Friday 3rd February, 2012
What are you doing to get the word out about your Sunday School class? What are you doing to remind your members about the values and benefits of the class? What are you doing to invite and encourage prospects to try it? What are you doing to connect your class with worship guests?

Before you read the list which follows, I challenge you to write down your current practices and then write a list of possible practices that fit your class and your church. Then check out this list:

  • teach class members to share their Sunday School testimony (check out Grow Sunday School by Sharing Your Sunday School Testimony)
  • consider having a Sunday School class open house (check out Sunday School Open House)
  • talk to your pastor about sharing about your class from the pulpit, perhaps as an interview by the pastor (check out Pulpit Sunday School Promotion)
  • write a brochure about your class with age group, study topic, ministry projects, etc. to share in worship or give to members to share with friends through the week (check out Barn Quilts, Sunday School, and Tourists (Guests))
  • have a Sunday School class sign up table before and/or after worship to talk to guests about your class, share a brochure, and/or lead them to your classroom
  • give printed invitations to members for your class, fellowships, or projects (check out Sunday School Invitations (Postcards), Updated)
  • set a goal for making prospect contacts (check out Sunday School Contacts Make a Difference!)
  • invite guests to class fellowship activities (check out Reach and Assimilate People into the Kingdom Through Sunday School Fellowships)
  • use a church bulletin board in a strategic location to share pictures and information about your class
  • print business card size class invitations about the class with space for the member to add name and personal contact information
  • add friends, prospects, and inservice teachers (who are working with preschool, children, or youth) to your prayer, fellowship, and ministry list and communicate weekly with the group through email
  • use the church bulletin or newsletter to promote special class studies, projects, and fellowship activities
  • look for community opportunities to share printed or promotional information about your class
By the way, the list above is also a great way to promote a new class start! There are also many more ways to market and promote your class. Don't keep it to yourself! Invite. Make disciples. Be revolutionary!

For more ideas about promoting Sunday School, check out these blog posts:

Comments [0]

Posted in:  Outreach  Pastors/Sunday School Directors  at 10:53:00 AM
Location:

Sunday School, IMAGINE, and the Gospel Project

Tuesday 31st January, 2012

Over the years on The Sunday School Revolutionary, I have focused on general and adult Sunday School. Revolutionary general Sunday School, however, also is interested in youth, children, and preschool Sunday School. When there are problems in younger age groups, it impacts the whole. When growth slows or stops for some reason in younger age groups, it tends to slow or stop total growth. Pursuing the Great Commission (Matthew 28:28-20) demands that we invest well in younger ages because of the foundations and impact on spiritual progress.

With that in mind, I want to point out a valuable event and a valuable resource. First, let me focus on the event. IMAGINE is a conference designed to raise the vision, leadership, and impact of preschool and children's ministry. IMAGINE will be at Parkway Baptist Church, 2380 Springfield Rd, Bardstown, KY on Friday-Saturday, February 10-11, 2012. The cost is $25 per person through February 6 and $35 thereafter. You can register yourself and your group at www.kybaptist.org/imagine. A list of hotels can also be found there along with details of the 28 breakout sessions from which to choose.

One of the many reasons to attend IMAGINE is that you will have opportunity to discover the newest curriculum line from LifeWay. The Gospel Project examines the whole of Scripture and reveals how Jesus is present in every story, theological concept, and missional truth. With components for adults, students, and kids, the entire church will discover what it really means to be a part of God's gospel project. 

The Gospel Project features a three-year study plan with 13-week units, each designed with the appropriate voice, depth, and course of study for each age group. Resources are available in multiple formats, including print, downloadable, and e-reader and app formats. The Gospel Project is designed so that individual age groups, entire churches, small groups, and even Christian schools can use it for in-depth, Christ-centered Bible study.

Invest in great preschool, children's, and youth Sunday School. Offer great curriculum in order to lead God's people to study the Word. Make disciples. Be revolutionary! For more about younger ages, check out these blog posts:

Comments [0]

Posted in:  Pastors/Sunday School Directors  at 10:47:00 AM
Location:

Sunday School Growth Actions

Friday 27th January, 2012

I am in the middle of a six month, multi-stop tour around Kentucky training pastors and Sunday School director teams in how to grow their Sunday Schools. Response after three stops has been great. These pastor-director teams have left confident about the knowledge they gained and the planning we did. They believed they could take steps that would lead to Sunday School growth: maturational, leadership development, numerical, organization, and more. That is exciting.

I wish I could replicate here the six hours of training and planning provided. Due to the interaction, that is just not possible. But I do want to share some of the essential elements. What does it take to grow your Sunday School? Consider the following:

  • Prayer. No need to ask if our Lord wants us to grow. He has commanded us to make disciples of all nations. Pray for workers. Pray for people reached. Pray for lessons to impact life-change. Pray for organization and training that leads people to minister and care for members. Pray for Sunday School.
  • Growth Desire. I have had leaders tell me they don't want to grow. Almost no Sunday School will grow whose leaders lack growth desire. Prayer and study of God's Word should lead to compassion for the lost and unreached.
  • Planning. Without planning, most Sunday Schools will produce the same results or less. This includes evaluation, need identification, prioritization, goal setting, calendaring, delegating, and reviewing/adjusting plans. This begins with an annual retreat and leads to monthly meetings were goals and plans are checked on and adjusted.
  • Goals. Annual goals will naturally include attendance, new members, new classes, new leaders, contacts, and prospects. The keys are enlisting and releasing new leaders in new classes and enrolling and caring for new people.
  • Plug the Leaks. Every Sunday School has "churn." These are people lost every year that must be replaced just to keep attendance the same. These people may die, move, or leave for any other reason. Care and ministry efforts should address as many sources of leak as possible: illness, grief, divorce, schedule, and more.
  • Care Group Leaders. Every adult and youth class needs care group leaders for small groups of members and prospects. They contact their care group weekly to pray and minister to discovered needs. This helps to address the leaks.
  • Prospect List. On whom should our care and ministry efforts focus? Without a target for our efforts, we can be less effective. Age groups should be assigned to every class. Then they should list the friends, relatives, associates, and neighbors who are not enrolled in Sunday School.
  • Class Outreach Leader. Every adult and youth class should have one. This person is not to make all the contact efforts himself/herself. Instead, the outreach leader's job is to assign contacts to class members (equip the saints).
  • Apprentice New Leaders. Sunday School cannot expand to care for more people without more leaders. The best way to train and prepare more leaders is through apprenticing. Every Sunday School leader should be apprenticing someone. Sunday School should naturally be the largest leadership development organization in the entire church, not just for Sunday School.
  • Start New Classes. We need more shepherds and more sheep pens in order to care for more sheep. Even if your current classes have space, new classes tend to be more evangelistic and inviting than existing classes. And it expands the care through more leaders. New classes grow faster and will tend to spill some people they reach into other classes.
There are many more growth actions, but these are the ones that come to my mind today . What would you add? Do you have a success story you would like to share related to one of these growth actions? Press Comments below and share your story. Give God your best effort. Grow. Make disciples. Be revolutionary!

For more ideas about growing your Sunday School check out these blog posts:

Comments [0]

Posted in:  Assimilation  Outreach  Pastors/Sunday School Directors  Starting New Classes  at 11:34:00 AM
Location:

Chewing on Sunday School Issues

Wednesday 18th January, 2012

Want to be stretched? What to make Sunday School even more effective? Then I want to challenge you to read a series of posts about Sunday School on the 9Marks website. Warning (as Garrett Kell's post is titled): These are "Not Your Grandma's Sunday School."

Check out the introductory editors' post:  Don't Be Too Cool for Sunday School by Jonathan Leeman and Trevin Wax.  Then the posts are divided into three categories: Reclaiming Sunday School, Reforming Sunday School, and How to Do Sunday School. Check out the posts:

Reclaiming Sunday School:

Reforming Sunday School:

How to Do Sunday School:

Comments [1]

Posted in:  Pastors/Sunday School Directors  at 08:27:00 PM
Location:

Five Essentials of Sunday School Growth

Friday 6th January, 2012

This month on the Sunday School Leader blog, my peers and I (state Sunday School directors) are sharing a month-long emphasis focusing on five areas of Sunday School growth that have become known as Flake's Formula: (1) know the possibilities, (2) enlarge the organization, (3) provide space and equipment, (4) enlist and train leaders, and (5) go after the people. There will be a different great post every day.

Check out these great posts:

I want to encourage you to sign up for the Sunday School Leader blog by subscribing with your email (on the right side of the blog page) so you won't miss a single post this month!

Here are a few of the previous posts that I have written there:

I have written here previously about Arthur Flake and Flake's Formula. Check out these blog posts: Make a fresh commitment to giving God your best effort through Sunday School. Allow mediocre Sunday School efforts to fade into the past. Make disciples. Be revolutionary!

Comments [0]

Posted in:  Pastors/Sunday School Directors  at 09:21:00 AM
Location:

Do You Need Sunday School Blueprints?

Thursday 5th January, 2012

If you are in or near Kentucky, I want to invite all pastor and Sunday School director teams to attend one of the Blueprints for Sunday School Growth events. They are scheduled through June of 2012. Here are the details:

WHY: Too many Sunday Schools have stopped growing. Leadership, knowledge, and a strategy are needed. Blueprints for Sunday School Growth has been designed to help Sunday School teams learn, raise expectations, calendar growth actions, set goals, and lead their Sunday Schools to realize new levels of growth and Kingdom impact.

WHO: Designed for pastor and Sunday School director teams. Can include other members of your core Sunday School planning team.

WHAT: Six hours of training and team planning to lead your Sunday School to grow. Planning times are built into the event schedule to enable team calendaring and goal setting. Here are the topics which will be covered:

  • Biblical purpose/mission of Sunday School
  • Grow Through an Annual Sunday School Growth Retreat
  • Pastor and Sunday School director relationships
  • Monthly Sunday School growth meetings
  • Sunday School leader enlistment and care
  • Sunday School growth budgeting and leader training
  • Add new people to the Sunday School bucket
  • Organize for Sunday School outreach and care
  • Sunday School enrollment and contacts
  • Promotion of Sunday School
  • Deepen relationships through Sunday School fellowship, projects, and meals
  • Add more Sunday School buckets: apprenticing
  • Add more Sunday School buckets: seed groups, off-site groups, and space
In addition to these General Session topics, participants will be able to choose from two Elective Conferences: "Teaching That Bears Fruit" and "101 Ways for Sunday School to Reach Out."

WHEN/WHERE: Since many do not know association names, the cities listed below are shared so you can know the area of the state. Unless an address is listed, call the number listed for an exact location for your choice. Due to meals, reservations are required. Call early to reserve your team's spot for this training.

  • Monday-Tuesday, February 6-7, Crosswoods Baptist Church, 4991 Harrodsburg Rd, Nicholasville, KY, 859.254.7747
  • Friday-Saturday, February 10-11, Logan-Todd Association, 196 W 3rd St, Russellville, KY, 270.726.2392
  • Friday-Saturday, February 17-18, Blood River Association, 47 Aurora Hwy, Hardin, KY, 270.437.4203
  • Saturday, February 25, Campton Baptist Church, 52 South Johnson St, Campton, KY, 859.398.5737
  • Saturday, February 25, Lynn Camp Baptist Church, Lynn Camp Church Rd, Corbin, KY, 606.549.4497
  • Friday-Saturday, March 2-3, Ohio River Association, 221 W Main St, Salem, KY, 270.988.2204
  • Saturday, April 14, Mayslick Baptist Church, 5105 Main St, Mayslick, KY, 606.763.6260
  • Saturday, April 21, First Baptist Church, 1570 N Danville Bypass, Danville, KY, 859.238.7624
  • Monday-Tuesday, April 23-24, Fort Mitchell Baptist Church, 2323 Dixie Highway, Fort Mitchell, KY, 859.727.6522 
  • Monday-Tuesday, April 30-May 1, Cloverport Baptist Church, 314 W Main St, Cloverport, KY, 270.788.3241
  • Saturday, May 5, First Baptist Church, 560 Main St, Hazard, KY, 606.439.4339
  • Monday-Tuesday, May 7-8, Williamstown Baptist Church, 214 N Main St, Williamstown, KY, 859.824.7755
  • Saturday, May 12, First Baptist Church, 149 Lawrence St, Brandenburg, KY, 270.828.2421
  • Saturday, June 2, Gasper River Association, 530 Helm Ln, Morgantown, KY, 270.526.6913

SCHEDULES: The schedules vary according to the day of the week. Here are the three schedules:
  • Mond ay-Tuesday: 5:30 - 9:00 PM both nigh ts (sandwich meal provided both nights)
  • Friday-Saturday: 6:30 - 9:00 PM on Friday and 8:00 AM - Noon on Saturday (sandwich meal provided on Friday night)
  • Saturday: 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM (sandwich lunch provided)

COST: The cost ranges from $15-25 per person. The price difference is due to meals. Contact the local association for an exact price. Of the cost, $15 is for conference materials and five Sunday School resources to help as you take these growth steps:
  • Sunday School That Really WORKS, Steve Parr
  • 3D Sunday School: A Three Dimensional Strategy to Help Leaders and Members Full the Great Commission, David Francis
  • I-6: A Six Lane Strategy Toward an Inviting Sunday School, David Francis
  • Discover Triad: Three Facets of a Dynamic Sunday School Class, David Francis
  • Connect3: The Power of One Sunday School Class, David Francis

FACILITATORS: Blueprints for Sunday School Growth will be led at each location by two of these experienced Sunday School practitioners:
This growth training/planning event is provided by the Sunday School Department of the Kentucky Baptist Convention and is financially supported through the generous Cooperative Program giving of Kentucky Baptist Convention churches.

Comments [0]

Posted in:  Pastors/Sunday School Directors  at 02:28:00 PM
Location:

Sunday School Teacher Self-Evaluation

Wednesday 14th December, 2011

God deserves our best effort all the time. This is even more true for those who are called to be teachers. We should remember the warning given in James 3:1 (HCSB):

Not many should become teachers, my brothers, knowing that we will receive a stricter judgment, for we all stumble in many ways.

With that in mind, we should pay special attention to the words of Paul in 2 Timothy 2:15 (HCSB):

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who doesn't need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth.

As we approach a new year, it is a good time to pause and evaluate your calling and efforts with the purpose of improving so you can give God your best. In that vein, I share the following self-evaluation tool. With minor additions, the tool comes from my friend, Robert Stewart, who is the former state Sunday School director for the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina. It comes from his personal website in an article entitled How Well Am I Doing in Fulfilling My Calling to Service? You will want to check out Robert's whole article.

Evaluate your effort as a Sunday School teacher by placing a mark on the scale which represents who well you are doing. Consider these self-evaluation statements:

  • Check #1 if you feel you have not really done very well at all.
  • Check #2 if you feel your work this year has been passable but mediocre.
  • Check #3 if you feel your ministry has been okay, not bad, but nothing really special either.
  • Check #4 if you feel your work has been fairly good, you've worked hard and are seeing results.
  • Check #5 if you feel you've done your very best.
Evaluation Area-1--2--3--4--5-
Prayer: Am consistent with daily devotions. Seek a personal
encounter with God. Pray for members and leaders regularly.
Lead class in prayer.
Preparation: Begin preparation early and am always ready
to guide interesting and life-changing study experiences with
God in His Word.
Learning Styles: Am aware of members' needs and select
methods to address those needs using their preferred
learning styles (verbal, visual, and experiential).
Transformational Teaching: I teach and lead in ways that
move learners from where they are toward their potential in
Christ.
     
Member Care: Maintain regular ministry contact with my
members. Make contacts regularly, especially on birthdays
and special days.
     
Reaching Out: Lead the class to pray for, relate to, and
invite guests to class fellowships, projects, and Bible study
sessions. Focus on follow up.
  
Organization: Enlist and train class leaders to serve as a
class leader to enable the class to be more effective in
growth and ministry.
     
Growth/Learning: Attended a worker training event and/or
read a book about teaching, caring, or reaching. I am open
to new ideas and more effective ways of teaching and
leading the class to grow.
     

Review your results. Where do you need to focus in the coming year? What actions can you take to give greater energy and effort in the area deserving focus? Write out an action plan and share it with someone. Ask him or her to encourage you to maintain your focus by asking you how you are doing every month during the year ahead. Give God your best effort. Make disciples. Be revolutionary!

For more ideas about evaluation, check out these blog posts:

Comments [0]

Posted in:  Teaching  at 01:30:00 PM
Location:

Who Is Leading Disciple-making in Your Sunday School Class?

Monday 12th December, 2011

Who is helping your class focus on making disciples? This is far more than teaching a lesson. This is far more than teaching and learning. Disciple-making is a process of becoming more like Christ. It is a process of obeying and practicing Jesus' commands. It is a journey of working out our salvation daily. It is denying self, taking up the cross, and following Jesus.

How does this happen? How can your class encourage this to take place? This effort will benefit from a person who leads this to happen in the class. I want to challenge classes to enlist a Discipling Leader. What might a Sunday School class Discipling Leader do? I want you to realize this is a fresh thought for me, but here are some early reflections on my part:

  • lead attenders to practice a daily quiet time, including prayer and Bible study;
  • give them spiritual growth experiences through exposure to spiritual disciplines;
  • enlist accountability partners or triads within the class;
  • spend part of class time in smaller groups, such as accountability partners/triads, small group discussion, etc.;
  • invest a portion of class time on leading class members to exercise (practice what they are learning about God's will and Word);
  • challenge attenders weekly to focus on a way to live out the Bible truth learned on Sunday and call for reports at the beginning of the next week;
  • study Christian living and discipleship issues further when appropriate and needed between Sundays;
  • ask every member where they are serving in the church and community to serve our Lord, the body, and the community;
  • and more.
What would you add to this beginning job description? What would you suggest that a class Discipling Leader do? How can we help attenders in our classes take steps of becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ? Add your thoughts by pressing Comments below. Ask questions and start a conversation. Let's help focus on this issue. Let's grow our people. Let's grow our classes and churches. Let's impact our world for Jesus! Make disciples. Be revolutionary!

For more ideas about Sunday School and discipleship, check out these blog posts:

Comments [0]

Posted in:  Spiritual Maturity  Teaching  at 07:01:00 PM
Location:

Simple Sunday School Class Efforts Produce Significant Results

Monday 5th December, 2011

My friend, David Bond serves as Adult Sunday School Strategist for the Evangelism and Church Growth Team of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention. David wrote a recent great post for the Sunday School Leader blog that was entitled Simple Strategies for Building Community. In the post, David offered seven simple class efforts which can make a huge difference.

Here are the seven (but you will want to read his whole blog post):

  • Get to know each other.
  • Provide time for interaction in class.
  • Name tags.
  • Contact each other during the week.
  • Come up big during crisis.
  • Get together outside of class.
  • Utilize groups within the group.
Deeper relationships increase trust which results in the potential for greater assimilation and disciple-making. Invest time in these seven actions. Organize to carry them out. Keep them in front of your class. Raise expectations. Make disciples. Be revolutionary!

For more ideas about building class community, check out these blog posts:

Comments [1]

Posted in:  Assimilation  Outreach  at 11:16:00 AM
Location:

Does God Expect Sunday School to Grow?

Wednesday 30th November, 2011

Does God expect Sunday School to grow? I have to smile just to type this question. My answer would be in the negative but with a caveat. (CAVEAT: While I don't believe God expects Sunday School to grow, I do believe our Lord expects us to carry out the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). And without hesitation I believe that Sunday School WHEN DONE RIGHT can greatly help Christ's body to carry out the Great Commission.)

What do we need to do to enable Sunday School to carry out the Great Commission? What can Sunday School do to prepare and mobilize God's people to "make disciples of all nations?" How can Sunday School help in baptizing them and teaching them to obey everything Jesus commanded us?

Part of the answer is in setting goals. If we set the wrong goals, we will focus our people, classes, and work in the wrong directions. But if we fail to set goals and expectations, we will also not be providing the leadership God expects and His people need. If we set unrealistic goals, we can demotivate our people. On the other hand, we are about a God-sized task that can only be accomplished in His power.

My friend, Mark Miller, wrote a great blog post in September entitled, Realistic Expectations for Sunday School Growth. I want to encourage you to read the entire post, but here are Mark's closing two paragraphs:

My philosophy of Sunday School and church growth was impacted by the late Ron Lewis. In my first church as minister of education in Little Rock Arkansas, he led a Church Growth Conference and served as our church’s consultant. He stated that a church would double every 10 years if they just grew at 7.5% a year. In other words, a church averaging 100 in Sunday School would need to average adding 7-8 new members plus replace its churn. David Francis estimates that the average church loses 20% of its attendance every year to deaths, relocations, transfers, etc. So for a church averaging 100 in Sunday School, they would have to discover 20 new attendees simply to maintain plus 7-8 to begin the process of doubling every 10 years.

Let’s dream big, but set realistic timetables for growth. Unrealistic goals develop unrealistic expectations. Realistic goals and realistic expectations provide energy and motivation. I am sure that one day Tennessee will beat Alabama again and win a national championship, but realistically it probably will not happen in 2011.

Does God expect Sunday School to grow? Maybe not, but we will benefit from using effective tools to carry out His work. Let's make Sunday School a tool that works well and works right. Give your best effort. Lead. Set goals. Expect. Grow. Make disciples. Be revolutionary!

For more ideas about growing your Sunday School, check out these blog posts:

Comments [0]

Posted in:  Pastors/Sunday School Directors  at 01:45:00 PM
Location: